


the end of an era

by punkcowboy



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Addiction, Ben’s POV, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Reginald Hargreeves A+ parenting, Reginald is a Dick, Substance Abuse, mentioned anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 16:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17984522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkcowboy/pseuds/punkcowboy
Summary: The moment Luther knocked over that stupid statue was the best moment of Ben’s life.Well, OK, his afterlife.





	the end of an era

**Author's Note:**

> Eyoooo guess who watched the entirety of The Umbrella Academy this weekend? Meeee. It’s great, I love it. 
> 
> This is a lil thing I really wanted to write after finishing the show. It may not be the best, or even the best thought out, but it’s been knocking around in my head all day so I thought I’d give it a shot. Any feedback would be great! Hope you enjoy :)

The moment Luther knocked over that stupid statue was the happiest moment of Ben’s life. Well, OK, his afterlife.

Ben had always hated that thing.

It depicted a perfect child, a tragic hero, the shining warrior that his Father has always wanted him to be. His father had reverted him back to a child, and preserved that image of him in bronze, towering over his siblings as an example for them. As someone for them to look up to, while they cowered in fear. His Father used his death to keep them under his control. While they had all been slowly slipping away from his grasp, he used Ben’s death to shame them whenever they were to act out.

“Think of Number Six. Tell me, does his passing mean nothing to you?”

“Number Six would be ashamed of how you’re acting!” 

“He sacrified himself for the greater good. The least you could do is honour that.”

Whenever he heard him say anything like this, Ben would become enraged. He would clench his fists, yell, cry, scream bloody murder right in his Father’s face. But every time he tried to hit out, or throw something in anger, he was reminded that he was _a fucking ghost_. They couldn’t see him, he couldn’t interact with any of them- he was having no affect. Klaus was so high all the time, that he may as well have been unable to interact with him for all the good it did.

All he could do was watch.

While he mostly stuck around his siblings, he would leave the house sometimes while they slept, just to go look at the statue. Mum kept it clean, polishing it every day to keep the bird shit and dirt off of it. No one else was allowed to touch it.

He would try to knock it down sometimes, punch that stupid smile off of his younger self’s face. Kick at the base, attempt to pull it down. Of course, every time he passed straight through.

Years passed. His siblings trickled off one by one, each in turn defying their Father. Klaus and Luther were the last ones left, and although it pained him to leave his other brother behind, Ben left when Klaus did. Ben knew all too well that Luther would never leave off his own volition. He was always the most loyal, the most studious. He should have been used as a shining example for the others. Instead, their Father barely gave Luther a second glance. Still, he fought for his approval, and Ben knew he would never stop fighting for it. So, he left. There was nothing he could do to help.

The following years were filled with watching his brother tear his life apart, filling his body with poison in a feeble attempt to drown out the ghosts that followed him around.

Sometimes, Klaus sobered up enough to have a regular conversation with him. Well. As regular as any conversation between a junkie and his dead sibling could be. He tried to remain a constant in his brother’s life, eventually managing to stay visible even when Klaus was off his head on drugs- although, how much of that was Ben and how much was Klaus’ powers always remained a mystery. However they managed to do it, Ben stayed by Klaus’ side through everything.

It was Ben that convinced Klaus to go to his fathers funeral. Ben missed his other siblings, and he knew Klaus did too. And so, however reluctantly, Klaus went.

The fight breaking out was not an unexpected occurrence. Even Diego throwing the knife was predictable- like Vanya said, he never did know when to stop.

But. Despite the tension in the air, despite the misery and anger floating around between the siblings, Ben was happy.

His family was together again, and he knew they could work things out. He really, truly believed in them.

And finally, _finally_ , that fucking statue was gone.


End file.
